Root cellar build questions

Hey all,

been looking into building a root cellar. going to probably start out small with some old coolers buried under our greenhouse for now but my long term plan is for one that is about half above/under ground and covered in earth we dig up from our small duck pond.

Curious to know if such a design will work and how much earth is required to cover it/best insulator material for the walls+ceilings (currently leaning towards wooden framing filled in with sandbags filled with earth)

Thanks!

Having your general location would help.  My one root cellar building experience involved covering it with about 4’ of dirt. That was in zone 6.  I have no idea if that much dirt was really needed.

John F Dean wrote:Having your general location would help.  My one root cellar building experience involved covering it with about 4’ of dirt. That was in zone 6.  I have no idea if that much dirt was really needed.

I'm in southern north carlonia, about an hour south of Charlotte, zone 8a I believe, so a bit warmer than 6 but not as much worry for freezing